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Battle of Culver
The Battle of Culver '''was a major campaign of the Reign of the Corvus Renegades between the militia of Culver, their allies the Eternal Companions, and the Corvus Renegades for control over Culver, a port city of Khanduras. Following the outbreak of the War of the Black King in 1264 the nation of Khanduras attempted to contain the fighting and chaos that ran rampant in the region. However, aid and supplies were in much demand for the citizens of Khanduras; the city of Culver became a centralized negotiated settlement after the Black King's defeat. In early 1266, Culver became a safe haven for the crippled citizens in the southern region of Khanduras. The Skovos Isles would later fall into the fold and use the city as a respectable trading hub. Meanwhile, Lord Fairfax of Westmarch, a powerful and wealthy nobleman, and the benefactor and concealed leader of the Corvus Renagades, sought to occupy Culver and use it as a fundamental trade port for his organization. He began by sending raiders and corsairs along the coast of Khanduras to destroy small towns and settlements. When his forces remained unhindered by the Khanduras goverment, Fairfax expanded his crusade and opted to capture the port city so that he may use tradings routes for financial benefit and centralized transportation across the Great Sea and Twin Seas. The Eternal Companions leader, Ikeda Cao, ultimately decided to defend the city and appointed his brother Chan Cao to command the Culver Garrison Force, a hastily assembled army of local conscripts, bannermen and the remnants of the knights who fought in the War of the Black King. Despite Culver's defeat, Chan's efforts were not entirely fruitless, for he provided the city with morale, leadership and a bold defense that allowed hundreds of citizens to escape a certain demise. Call-to-arms was announced by Executor Ikeda to take action and reclaim the city, alas the Eternal Companions received support from many surrounding nation such as the Westmarch and Entsteig monarchy, Lut Gholein, Skovos Isles and the Rogue Monasteries of Khanduras. Following the capture of the city, the renegades massacred Culver prisoners of war, murdered civilians, and committed acts of looting and rape in an event known as the Culver Massacre. Though the Corvus Renegades' victory excited and emboldened them, the subsequent massacre opened the eyes of the world to their tarnished reputation. By conquering Culver and areas of Khanduras, Lord Fairfax aloud for many unlawful organizations to openly trade in the black market, such as the Thieves Guild for example, and greatly benefited. This ultimately exposed Fairfax as the conspirator, benefactor and leader of the Corvus Renegades, and was charged with war crimes and high treason by Westmarch, Khanduras and Entsteig. Prelude ''The Corvus Renegades' decision to capture Culver'' The conflict that would later be known as the Reign of the Corvus Renegades started on November 29th, 1266 with a skirmish at High Water Passing against the remnants of the Knights of Khanduras, thus escalated into a small-scale war in the southern regions of Khanduras. In response to the conflict, Majordomo Harkyn summoned his bannermen and dispatched waves of knights to detain the Renegades. As the de facto leader of Culver, having already established itself as a new major city in Khanduras, Harkyn was reluctant to go to war and further increase bloodshed in his nation. After multiple skirmishes against the Corvus Renegade, Harkyn's forces, lead by Captain Phelk, managed to secure the bridge on the Phoenix River, just 38 miles West of Culver, allowing them to cement a bold defense and prevent belligerents from crossing the river. Meanwhile, Lord Fairfax, a nobleman of Westmarch acted as a pledged delegate between trading organizations in Khanduras. His interest in Culver stemmed from their thriving trade routes. Because of the ruined monarch that the Black King left behind, and the chaos that ensued after the Emergence of Evil, Fairfax recruited an acquainted warlord, Far'ukor, and named him Imperator; as the face of the Corvus Renegades, Far'ukor was given secret orders by Fairfax to raid and pillage villages in the surrounding regions of Culver. His goal as benefactor was to secretly supply Far'ukor with the resources to conquer, thus keeping his identity and reputation free from condemnation. Far'ukor was likewise eager to conquer Culver and both men chafed under the invading restriction defenses near the bridge of Phoenix River that had been imposed on them by the Khanduras knights under Majordomo Harkyn. Known as the Fairfax Conspiracy, a secret union between Loard Fairfax and his followers set into motion a rapid session of paramilitary forces gathering under Imperator Far'ukor who intially began his career as a decorated soldier of Westmarch. The villages that were sacked and pillaged by the Renegades would then be turned over to Captain Zulu, the legendary pirate of the Four Seas, as Far'ukor enslaved villagers and sold them into slavery. Zulu eventually pledge an uneasy alliance with Fairfax. As Lord Fairfax remained the secret benefactor, Zulu and Far'ukor began solidifying their claim over the southern region of Khanduras by both land and sea. The Askari were the first to discover that the Renegades were backed by a mysterious benefactor but were unsuccessful at discovering his identity. ''The Eternal Companion's decision to defend Culver'' Members of the Eternal Companions had struggled for some time to establish itself as a force within the Kabal Valley, where several skirmishes took place near the Phoenix River that ran central through. Long considered to be a renegade stronghold, the Kabal Valley was nicknamed the "Valley of Death" by Cao's forces due to the dangers associated with being stationed there, with sometimes as many as a dozen skirmishes per day. Spearheaded by Captain Chan Cao, an Imperial Knight of Xiansai and brother of Executor Ikeda, in the Kabal Valley, the goal of the assault was to both disrupt Renegade and insurgent routes of transit in the area, as well as trying to establish a peace with local village elders by offering to build them a new highway through the mountains, paid for by the Westmarch government, in exchange for information about Corvus Renegade combatants. standing beside his friend and leader Chan. Both became pivotal during the battle.]] By April, the Corvus Renegades had used valley and mountain regions as a staging point for war against Culver. Upon learning of the their intent to conquer Culver, Chan had his forces retreat and garrison at Culver. Chan's forces grew slightly with the arrival of reinforcements led by eventual Culver co-commanders Ian Merea and Kalvien Shoda. Aware that his garrison could not withstand an attack by such a large force, Chan wrote multiple letters pleading for more men and supplies, but the his forces were reinforced by fewer than 100 men. Wanting to delay the march of war for as long as possible, Commander Harkyn and Captain Chan extended a defensive position onto the bridge that controled the Phoenix River, a bottleneck location to withstand an attack. Meanwhile across the Twin Seas, Executor Ikeda and a majority of his forces received couriers by the day from Chan and his constituents. Chan's request for reinforcements was stalled due to consistent complications caused by Elee Lee Llamas due to her recent strife with the Dark Coven near Gea Kul. Elee's actions further instigated conflict between the Eternal Companions and the Dark Coven, which in turn drew attention away of the imminent battle of Culver. Overall, very few warriors in the surrounding regions were able to answer the call. It was only after Elee's death and ending the conflict against the Dark Coven after several weeks did Executor Ikeda learn of the dire necessity to aid his brother Chan at Culver, but alas it was too late. .]] ''The Bridge on the Phoenix River'' Due to Culver's extended defense on the Phoenix River, Far'ukor and his forces were hindered in their advancement to the city of Culver. On May 1st, Renegade scouts discovered an undisclosed crossing to launch a pincer attack within the Kabal Valley. At dawn Far'ukor launched an assault on the Khanduras knights that held the bridge, resulting in heavy causalities on both sides. Though greatly outnumbered, the knights managed to hold off the attackers from the east while also defending the sneak attack from the west; catapults were used by both armies, and while the Corvus Renegades used their efficiently at eliminating their belligerents, the Khanduras catapults aimed at destroying the bridge to yield their opponents but failed in their attempt. Leading the attack across the bridge, Far'ukor immediately targeted down any horsemen that attempted to flee. Though his foot soldiers were not fully mustered, and nearly half his army still sweeping the countryside under the command of Chieftain Cossack, Chieftain Rooster and Chieftress Tula, the Imperator commanded his forces to pursue the retreating Khanduras warriors on foot. Captain Phelk was later captured and executed by Chieftain Rooster. Zulu, meanwhile aboard his ship, launched an attack near the coast against an Askari blockade that anticipated the pirate lord's conquest to Culver. Outnumbered, the Askari retreated south to Skartara Isle to muster a larger fleet and counter-attack Zulu's forces. ''March on Culver'' On May 2nd Far'ukor ordered half of his forces to pursue retreating Culver forces across the restriction defense to Culver, a flagrant act of insubordination. When Fairfax discovered this the next day he ordered Far'ukor to stop immediately, but was ignored. The remaining half of his forces continued their reign of chaos in the regions surrounding Culver and were ordered to muster a battalion and rendezvous on the outskirts of the city. When news reached Culver of the bridge's capture and the imminent attack on the city, Chan and Harkyn began to hastily prepare the defenses; couriers were sent in all directions to call for reinforcements. During their advance the Renegades overcame initially light resistance from the already battered Khanduras forces who were being pursued by the Renegades from bridge of Phoenix River in a "running battle". Here the Renegades were aided by their complete chivalry supremacy, their abundance of siege weapons, the improvised and hastily constructed nature of the Khanduras defenses, and also by the Khanduras strategy of concentrating their defending forces on small patches of relatively high ground which made them easy to outflank and surround. Masses of Renegade soldiers marched from the bridge on the River Phoenix to Culver at a breakneck pace, rapidly defeating pockets of Khanduras resistance. By dusk on May 2rd they had reached the last line of defense, the Eternal Line, behind which lay Culver's fortified walls. The Battle ''First Day'' On the early morning of May 3rd Far'ukor ordered an all-out attack on Culver, with the forces of Chieftain Cossack and Chieftress Tula rendezvousing with the Imperator later that day. Siege weapons were set up and deployed onto the battlefield, with volleys of arrows from archers and boulders from catapults. Prior to the battle starting, Chan gave a speech in the courtyard to all the warriors at his command by stating they should leave the city if they wished, but was surprised to find none would depart. He then placed Kalvien in command of the archers along the walls and Sir Ian in command of the vanguard. Doug, close at Chan's side during the majority of the battle, created traps made from magic as well as enhanced the weaponry and outer defenses. The first day of battle was long and grueling for both sides, but the forces under Chan's command remained impervious to surrender; several skirmishes happened along the walls and outside the gates wherever Renegader soldiers could access by siege tools, such as ladders or rams. By the end of the first day over five-hundred Renegade soldeirs sent in as the first wave were slain, not a single one able to invade the city. Chan also retreated to his private quarters on the eve of battle to write one last letter to his brother Ikeda in hopes of sending reinforcements. Vetulani Stone managed to rendezvous outside the city walls with a small group of Askari warriors - Amazon and Valkyrie from the Skovos Isles - and brought them into the fold to help defend. When the first wave of Renegade soldiers began their attack on the city, Harkyn and Chan primarily focused on positioning their troops in the locations that required major defending. Sir Kalvien was among the bold commanders who successfully pushed back the waves of Renegade soldiers who attempted to conquer the walls. Meanwhile, Sir Ian lead several counter-attacks at the gate for whomever dared to fight their way through. Commander Harkyn's bravery was briefly shown during the first day when he lead a charge against a group of Renegade vanguard alongside Sir Ian. However, Harkyn spent a majority of the first day drafting and coercing citizens into a militia. After hours of intense fighting and hindering all belligerents from entering the city, Ian suffered a mental breakdown after nearly suffocating under a pile of corpses during a skirmish. He retreated to the Zakarum church to find rest and was counseled by the priests and denizens who hid there; after his mind had calmed, Ian returned to the vanguard and urged the injured or lame to take shelter in the church. Imperator Far'ukor quickly realized that the defenses of Culver, though hastily constructed and fortitude, would not be destroyed nor the walls breached and that Renegade soldiers would die by the thousands. Far'ukor was initially intent on starving the city out with his siege and Zulu's blockade, but Chieftress Tula proposed the idea of blowing open the outer defenses by using Demonfire potion, a flammable liquid with highly volatile explosion. Having brought nearly a dozen crates worth of the potion with her during the siege, Far'ukor was shocked but more so pleased with Tula. During the first night, Chieftain Cossack created a diversion by sending in an assault force to attack the gates of Culver while Renegade soldiers sneaked to the outer defenses to lay several crates along the walls of the city. ''Second Day''''' After less than two days of intense fighting Harkyn decided to abandon the city. Before fleeing, Chan ordered his men to launch a concerted breakout of the Renegade siege, but by this time Culver was largely surrounded and its defenses were at the breaking point. Most of Harkyn's units simply collapsed, their soldiers often casting off their weapons and uniforms in the streets in the hopes of hiding among the city's civilian population. Chan was convinced that to run from his capital city "without a serious fight ... would forever be regarded as a cowardly decision." However, Harkyn and his personal guard were neglected at fleeing along the coast when they encountered Zulu's blockade and were chased by corsairs. Harkyn ultimately escaped from the battle by riding into the mountain regions to the east. Shortly before dawn on the second day, Renedage soldiers finished planting the explosive bottles of Demonfire and retreated alongside Cossack's forces for safety. Commander Chan grew suspicious when he observed a cease fire from Renegade forces and witnessed their heretic chanting; within moments, siege weapons positioned themselves to fire the remaining crates of Demonfire onto the rigged walls. When Chan noticed something odd about the artillery about to be launched, he deduced that danger was imminent and ordered his surrounding forces to take cover. The crates launched into the city were quickly followed by a single flaming arrow launched by Renegade soldier Uklar. An explosion was sparked by Uklar's arrow, creating havoc and destruction upon the walls and buildings that had been doused or rigged with Demonfire. The devastation turned the tide of battle for the Renegade forces as hundreds of soldiers and civilians died in the explosion. Kalvien was among those who were obliterated during the explosion. Chaos and and skirmishes broke out through the city as Renegade soldiers invaded through the ruined defenses. Elsewhere, Vetulani and her Amazon warriors gave a roll call to the sky and leading several successful counter-attacks, and were late joined by Chan and the militia formed on the previous day. Aftermath, Mopping-up, and Massacre